Bruce Power's Unit 5 Outage Benefits Thousands of Canadians

Cobalt, which is a byproduct of Bruce B's four units, is safely removed from the units during planned maintenance outages about every two years. Its power is then harnessed by Canada's medical industry to treat cancer patients.

"Every time we harvest cobalt from our units, we do so knowing it will benefit thousands of Canadians, and perhaps even some of our own friends and family," said Pete Milojevic, Senior Vice President, Bruce B.

The Unit 5 outage, which started on Jan. 4 and brought an end to the 129-day record run of four-unit continuous operation at Bruce B, represented a $40 million investment by Bruce Power, said Len Clewett, Executive Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer at Bruce Power. This outage will be closely followed by two-month outages in Units 6 and 8 to complete the first half of 2013.

"By investing over $200 million into these units in 2013, we are ensuring they operate safely and reliably so the people of Ontario have continuous access to low-cost electricity at all times," Clewett said.

Bruce Power will provide about 25 per cent of the province's energy this year. The Bruce Power site is a key element to Ontario's plan to phase out coal in Ontario. A revitalized, eight-unit Bruce site provides 70 per cent of the energy needed to phase out coal in the province.

About Bruce Power

Bruce Power operates one of the world's largest nuclear sites and is the source of roughly 25 per cent of Ontario's electricity. The company's site in Tiverton, Ontario is home to eight CANDU reactors, each one capable of generating enough low-cost, reliable, safe and clean electricity to meet the annual needs of a city the size of Ottawa. Formed in 2001, Bruce Power is an all-Canadian partnership among TransCanada, Cameco, Borealis Infrastructure Management (a division of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System) as well as the Power Workers' Union and the Society of Energy Professionals. A majority of Bruce Power's 4,000 employees are also owners in the business.